REVIEW – I keep a flashlight in a pouch on my backpack at all times because I always seem to need one. At 750 lumens using a Cree LED it was the brightest CR123 battery-powered flashlight at the time so when Nitecore asked me to review their new MH12 Pro that puts out 3300 lumens with over a quarter of a mile throw I had to check it out. Let’s see how the Nitecore MH12 Pro performs.
What is it?
The Nitecore MH12 Pro is advertised as a tactical-style flashlight using a Nitelab UHi 40 LED that can put out 3300 lumens max for 30 minutes. Weighing in at 5.66oz total with the battery it is very light and compact at only 5.45” x 1.06”.
What’s in the box?
- 1x Nitecore MH12 Pro flashlight
- 1x Nitecore 21700 USB-C rechargeable Li-ion 5,300mAh battery
- 1x USB-C charging cable
- 1x Belt holster with Velcro
- 1x Pocket clip
- 1x Spare O-ring
- 1x Lanyard
- 1x User manual
Hardware specs
- Dimensions: 5.45” L x 1.06” W or 138.5mm L x 26.0 mm body dia x 26.8 mm head dia
- LED: Nitelab UHi 40 LED (40W max power)
- Max Lumen: 3300 lumens
- Max Beam Intensity: 63500 cd
- Max Throw: 1656 feet or 505 meters
- Weight: 160 g / 5.66 oz with battery
- Water Resistant: IP68 (2m submersible and waterproof, 1m impact resistant)
- Battery: Nitecore 21700 Li-ion 5,300mAh/20A Lithium-ion battery USB-C rechargeable
- Runtime: 650 hours on Ultralow (1 lumen) mode; 50h on Low (50 Lumens), 8h 30min on Med (300 Lumens), 4h 30min on High (1,200 Lumens), 30min on Turbo (3,300 Lumens)
- USB charge time: 3h 30m
Design and features
The Nitecore MH12 Pro flashlight is very compact and easy to carry at only 5.45 in long, 1.06 in diameter, and 5.66 oz with the included rechargeable 5,300mAh battery.
The Nitecore MH12 Pro features a tail switch for on/off and momentary on if you push it halfway. There is also a Mode switch located near the head. It lets you select between Low (50 Lumen), Med (300 Lumens), High (1,200 Lumens), and Turbo (3,300 Lumens) and indicates which brightness level it is in with the blue LEDs on the left. On the right of the Mode switch the green LEDs indicate battery power levels. The charge port is on the back. Here’s the link to the online user manual but I will go through the key features below.
You can also select two different ways that the Mode button will cycle through intensities. Daily mode starts Low and goes up to Turbo. Tactical mode starts in Turbo and then cycles down to Low. There is also an Ultralow 1 lumen setting. With the light off press and hold the Mode button then press the tail cap. This activates Ultralow mode. If you keep holding the Mode button for another five seconds the flashlight will change between Daily and Tactical modes. One flash indicates it is in Daily setting and two flashes to indicate Tactical.
In Tactical mode even if you lower the setting to low before you turn it off when you turn it on again it will go straight back to Turbo mode first. I just left it in Daily for all my testing but liked the option to change it so it will start out in the very brightest level right off the bat. In Daily mode, it will remember the last setting used and go back to the last used brightness. With the light on in Daily or Tactical mode, a long press of the Mode button will cycle through Strobe/Beacon/SOS for Daily or just Strobe when in Tactical mode. The included belt pouch has a loop and Velcro straps to attach to MOLLE gear. I found the included steel clip very secure and very convenient to just clip it to my belt or pocket.
Performance
The Nitecore MH12 Pro flashlight is, ounce for ounce, the brightest flashlight I have ever used. With a 3300 max lumen brightness and a super long throw of 1656 feet which is a little over a quarter of a mile this flashlight is amazingly bright. With the new 21700 style battery you also get run times that are unheard of on CR123 or even 18650 style rechargeable batteries. High mode is 1,200 lumens and you get 4 hours and 30 mins of runtime.
I found myself using Ultralow a lot which is only 1 lumen. Ultralow is activated by holding the Mode button and then clicking the tail cap. You can then press the Mode button to enter the other brightness levels. The spread of light is very good as well with a bright center but even dispersion in a wide circle.
A nice safety feature is that when in High and Turbo a built-in sensor will detect an obstruction near the lens. If the light gets too close to an object it will lower to 300 lumens then when clear go back to the set brightness which is a nice feature. See a video of it in action below.
The only downside with the Nitecore MH12 Pro flashlight I could find is when in Turbo mode the head gets really hot very quickly. The manual does have a warning that when in Turbo mode the head will generate a massive amount of heat and they weren’t kidding. Kinda handy as an emergency hand warmer in the winter but since it gets so hot it will exit Turbo mode and default back to High after only 22 seconds (I clocked it a few times). You would then have to click the mode button to go back to Turbo but it will regress to High again in 16 seconds since it was already hot. It was able to remain on high for 20 minutes without getting too hot to make it drop further to Medium.
Realistically you won’t be able to use Turbo very long and will have to stick with High for sustained brightness which is still a respectable 1,200 lumens and plenty bright for most applications but it would have been nice to have some heat dissipation to allow Turbo to remain on for at least a few minutes.
What I like
- Brightest flashlight for the size with excellent duration
- Safety sensor so you don’t blind yourself in High or Turbo
What I’d change
- Better cooling for longer Turbo mode
Final thoughts
The Nitecore MH12 Pro is an excellent flashlight for any use. It fits the hand well and isn’t too big or heavy. For the size, the Nitecore MH12 Pro is a heavyweight putting out 3,300 lumens with a crazy far quarter mile throw even if only for 22 seconds at a time. The 21700 size battery is the new standard for size and power. Compared to my old tactical flashlights that use CR123 batteries there’s no comparison for brightness and run time. I only wish the MH12 Pro had a little better cooling to get a longer runtime in Turbo before dropping down to High. A minute or two would be a lot better than just 22 seconds but even with that shortcoming the MH12 Pro will be my new EDC flashlight and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to upgrade.
Price: $89.95
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Nitecore.
